Zootaxa 4729 (4): 451–481 ISSN 1175-5326 (print edition) https://www.mapress.com/j/zt/ Article ZOOTAXA Copyright © 2020 Magnolia Press ISSN 1175-5334 (online edition) https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4729.4.1 http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:C111AD4F-6740-4695-9C79-C598EE5AFDE1 Accessing cryptic diversity in Neotropical rattlesnakes (Serpentes: Viperidae: Crotalus) with the description of two new species RUBÉN ALONSO CARBAJAL-MÁRQUEZ1,4,5, JOSÉ ROGELIO CEDEÑO-VÁZQUEZ1, ARELY MARTÍNEZ-ARCE1, EDGAR NERI-CASTRO2 & SALIMA C. MACHKOUR- M’RABET3 1Departamento de Sistemática y Ecología Acuática. El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Unidad Chetumal, Av. Centenario Km 5.5, Chet- umal, 77014, Quintana Roo, México 2Instituto de Biotecnología de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Av. Universidad #2001, Col. Chamilpa C.P. 62210 Cu- ernavaca, Morelos, México 3Departamento de Conservación de la Biodiversidad. El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Unidad Chetumal, Av. Centenario Km 5.5, Chet- umal, 77014, Quintana Roo, México 4Conservación de la Biodiversidad del Centro de México, A.C. Andador Torre de Marfil No. 100, 20229, Aguascalientes, Aguascali- entes, México. 5Corresponding author. E-mail:
[email protected] Abstract Members of the Crotalus durissus species complex are widely distributed from Mexico to Argentina in areas with mainly seasonally dry tropical deciduous forest. Although four species (C. culminatus, C. durissus, C. simus and C. tzabcan) are currently recognized, species limits remain to be tested. Previous genetic studies suggest that C. durissus and C. simus may be paraphyletic and that at least one cryptic species may be present. We analyzed 2596 bp of DNA sequence data from three mitochondrial and one nuclear gene to infer phylogenetic relationships in the Neotropical rattlesnakes.